Category: Discipleship

Goals and Culture

A couple of months back I read a fascinating (and sad) article about a Navy sailor who died during BUD/S (Navy SEAL training). There is a lot that can be gleaned and discussed from this story, but one thing in particular caught my attention.  Over the years, the BUD/S program has become increasingly difficult, and the graduation…
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Callers

Think back to the first time in ministry you were invited to do something that was a little bit out of your reach. The first time you were asked to preach; or lead a ministry team; or go on a missions trip. If we take just five minutes, most of us would have at least…
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Small Steps Become Big Steps

Last month, I wrote about how easy it is to be more dependent on ourselves than on the Lord.  We can get so proficient at “ministry” that we can, over time, find ourselves estranged from the One we serve.  This usually happens through any number of small steps that move us away from God rather…
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LIFE Conference Recap and Resources

Just 28 days ago, many of you sent your high school students off to Orlando, FL, for LIFE Conference 2022. This triennial gathering of C&MA students is crafted to be a time of worship, teaching, and encouragement. For many of our students, this last aspect is vitally important. The Kingdom life has always been, and…
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Another Way to Multiply

Perhaps, like me, many of you were taught early in ministry that the way to multiply something is to divide it in half. If you want to multiply a small group, develop another leader and divide the group into two groups. If you want to multiply your youth group, find another leader and divide the…
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Correcting the Scope of Discipleship

Growing up, Saturday was Chore-day.  Dad would assemble us kids and then begin handing out chores: Chris, mow the lawn, Mike, wash the van, Jana… you get the picture.  I remember one time I was assigned to mow the lawn, but when I went to start the lawn mower it was out of gas.  When I went back…
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Creating a Sending Culture

We all know that we are called to be a “going” people.  The church is to “go” and make disciples who in turn “go” and make disciples. The question for us, then, is how do we create this culture in our local church? Below are some ideas to consider along these lines. Start with you. God…
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Keeping Young Leaders Engaged in Church

One of the challenges I hear of repeatedly is how can churches keep (or get) young adults involved. Here’s three things that young leaders are looking for in your church. They want to be involved where interested, make a significant impact, and they want to be included in the leadership conversation. Involved. Younger leaders thrive when given the opportunity to serve or…
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LIFE Conference Info!

LIFE Conference 2022 is less than one year away!  While that may seem like a long way down the road, it’s critical to have a good plan for pulling off a successful LIFE trip with your students.  I asked Pastor Harry Owczarek, Youth Point Person for the RMD and Associate Pastor at Faith Alliance Church in Sidney,…
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Student and Kid Min Help Is On The Way!

Over the last couple of months the District staff team and leaders within the District have been working to develop strategies for coming alongside the student and children’s ministry leaders in the RMD. While these strategies will continue to be refined, we wanted to bring a couple of items to your attention that we trust…
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